Gadwyn
Gadwyn Gadwyn has long been the center of the known world. It boasts the Ashen Throne, the seat of the High King of the Realm. With soil soaked in centuries of blood and fields weathered from the many battles, Gadwyn was not the most fertile of land. Fortunately, an alliance with the Lady of Carnatia led to the land becoming sustainable once more. Current Ruler: House Howlester of Albion The House Howlester are descendants of the famous raid leader Eurlon Hawlystair. After conquering the Elven empire, the family became complacent and weak, choosing to lounge in their castle and enjoy the delicacies of their court. Despite their growing complacency, they wished to assert that they were still a name to be feared in the realm, attempting to break the northern Lord Drummond and Lady Ottkala, the Children of Ice. This resulted in a failed military campaign that nearly saw House Howlester driven to extinction, but was saved by two very tactful marriages that ensured peace. These new unions allowed House Howlester to retain Albion as its seat of power within Gadwyn where they continue to watch over the Ashen Throne. History Elven Origins Originally a barren land, the elves appeared at an unknown time and began spreading across the then undivided kingdoms. With their expansion came the need for a unified empire, Sarenduil, an elder of the Elves headed North through Gadwyn to where he would form the seat of the Elven dynasty. During this time, Gadwyn became a lush and heavily forested land as the elves learned how to cultivate the barren earth. The Elder Sarenduil reached his destination after a months pilgrimage, using his powers to raise a mighty ash tree from the earth on a hill by the sea. Around this tree, his hall was built and named, though the name has been lost to time, along with his dynasty. The Conquest of Old Albion As the years went on, Elven elders began feeling strange tidings in their spirit trees. It came at the height of Sarenduil's rule, when all the elves had reached the apex of their gifts and training. The ships came from what seemed to be present day Starkhavyn, landing on the beaches of the Elves who welcomed them with open arms. Unfortunately for them they were met with the poorly forged blades of the raiders. What would have been a war was more a genocide. The only resistance the elves were capable of offering was burying themselves in the earth, or striking out with roots, vines and the like. After several years, all of elven-kind had been purged or forced to flee into The Unknown bar the Elven King Sarenduil, who remained in his hall in what has been named Old Albion. After a month long siege, and countless losses, a man by the name of Eurlon Hawlystair broke through to the throne room, where a withered and aged Sarenduil waited for him. The Elven king spoke no words, but waited for the blade to send his soul from his body. With the death of the Old King, Eurlon set to tearing apart the ancient ash tree to carve himself a new throne. After hours of hacking with his axe, the axehead shattered on the final strike, leaving a singular, but very lush branch centered above the throne. It was at this point, that the throne was given a name; The Ashen Throne. Present Day With the many years weathering the land, and the loss of the Elven Vinians, the land became less alive than it had been before, though not completely barren. The area surrounding New Albion was fertile enough to farm, though the seat of The Ashen Throne would remain barren. After many wars, the House Howlester, descendants of the famous Eurlon Hawlystair, took dominion over the Kingdom of Old. Trivia * Gadwyn's crest always remains the same aside from the sigils under the branches of the ash tree. The sigils reflect the House currently ruling over the realm. * Gadwyn has seen some of the fiercest fighting of all the wars, the land being the most scarred, broken, and infertile of all the lands aside from Starkhavyn, despite help from the Lady of Carnatia. * Gadwyn retains the realm's most well supplied military, though its numbers are a sad contrast to the poorly supplied hordes of Starkhavyn and Skalivak. Category:Kingdoms